Caged in Christmas
by riah alice drake
Summary: My take on a Root & Shaw Christmas after Samaritan was defeated.
1. Chapter 1

"Not a good time Root." Shaw groaned when her earpiece buzzed against her ear singling a connecting incoming call. And seeing that the hacker was the only one allowed to use that number it wasn't hard to know who was trying to reach her. "But this is important sweetie." the reformed killer for hirer pouted over the sound of some useless bodyguard's bones snapping out of place under Shaw's hands.

"Hight debatable," Shaw grumbled and Root knew just from her tone that she was doing one of her expert eye rolls along with the comment. "You always say that." Root sighed rolling out the sour muscles in her shoulder as she talked. "Because you always want to make a big deal out of things that don't need to be." Shaw reminded her putting another of her would be attackers in a chock hold that ended with them both on their backs on the concrete floor. "What's up now?" she asked when the big guy trapped in her hold stopped struggling.

"Well, I wanted to put the new stuff I bought around the tree for when you get home." Root answered brightly "But it seems I can't do that now." she summarized the pout returning to her voice at the statement. "Okay, but what... Oh. " Shaw started to ask her fingers drumming impatiently against the desktop as she waited for the drive she'd slammed into the computer to finish copying the files she needed but then stopped herself when she remembered her own little addition to the space around the oversized tree Root had insisted they buy for their latest safehouse apartment.

Root giggled at the guilty sounding slip up in Shaw's answer "Is that really all you're going to say Sameen? Oh?" the hacker wondered while Shaw heard the soft thumping of fingers against chain-link picturing Root's hand batting along the black metal of the thing it had taken her twenty minutes to put together thanks to Bear's over-eager attempts to help by trying to eat the instructions.

"Well if you hadn't put all those treat shaped ornaments on it before conveniently leaving for the week on another blind quest for your Robo Overlord then Bear wouldn't want to jump up and knock the damned thing over all the time trying to get them." Shaw defended dropping down to a low crouch when she heard the reinforcements thumping down the hall toward her. "But I just wanted him to feel included in the decorating." Root answered still pouting at the annoyed groan Shaw let out. "Well, when I get back from kicking the rest of these jerks asses we can talk about it." Shaw offered her tone similar to the one she'd used when she'd given the hacker hope about a 'Some Day' in their future.

"Okay, Sweetie. Break a few necks for me too on your way back to me." Root sighed sharing a fleeting worried look with Bear as the call clicked off without a reply from Shaw.


	2. Chapter 2

The scrape of a key in the lock tells her her compact sociopath was home. Well, that and the hard thumps of Bear's tail against the bed before the sounds of his nails clicking against the hardwood as he heads into the living room to greet Shaw first. After all, she had been gone four days longer than they'd originally thought she would so, of course, Bear missed his favorite person between the two.

Root, however, chose to stay in bed pretending to be asleep knowing that after what she'd heard from the Machine Shaw was going to need a shower apparently needing to take down the stalker of their latest number on her way back to the safehouse. And with the way she was laying now Root would have the perfect view just as soon as Shaw decides to do her ninja walk into the bedroom.

Any second now…

"Do you think she'll like it?"

Root wasn't used to hearing Shaw so unsure of herself until Bear lets out a soft happy mini bark as if answering the question making Shaw let out a shaky "Thanks boy."

Bear lets out another happy bark at the praise "I hope she does anyway I had to kneecap the guy I got it from just to make it fun for me….the stupid thing was a real pain in the ass to track down." Shaw vented and Root could tell she was on her way to the kitchen given the faint sounds of the refrigerator opening and closing floated into her good ear in the quiet of their apartment.

"What?" Shaw asks talking over the rim of her beer Root assumes as Bear follows her Persian back into the living room as if they had completely forgotten she was in the apartment. "I might not have feelings but that doesn't mean I want Root's Christmas to suck. I mean she deserves the best after almost dying fighting Samaritan." Shaw defends to no one and going by the happy groan she let out she'd seen Root's loving left note about the stake she'd left warming in the oven for her before she'd went to bed.

Bear seemed to be tugging at Shaw's gear bag if his garbled growls and the scraps of the metal loops on the pockets where any indication as Root shifted to tilt her good ear toward the door not wanting to get up and risk Shaw seeing her now, she was being so open about her feelings.

"No buddy you have to wait until tomorrow for that." Shaw corrects having moved into the sight line so Root could see at least her back reflected in the mirror hanging on the bedroom door. Any other time Root would be more than happy with the view but at the moment all she wants is to see those beautiful eyes that say more to her than Shaw even knew she was able to say in words.

"Honestly between you and me, I don't get the appeal. I mean I've tried it …you know to test it our for her and all and it didn't end well." Shaw complained kicking off her shoes and sheading both her pants and her shirt leaving her in only her black boy shorts and sports bra as she knelt to dig around in her discarded gear bag. "Bear." She scolds when her dog tries to nudge her hand away to get to the treats, she'd picked up for him.

"I'm going for a shower and you big man be good alright? No trying to rip my gear bag apart again just to get to those treats." Bear huffed and Root can easily picture him flopping down on the couch with his head on his paws at the light-hearted scolding.

"Didn't Big Sister ever tell you it's not nice to eavesdrop?"

Root hides her smirk in the pillow "You knew who I was when you came in sweetie." She reminds her annoyed sociopath pushing herself up to rest her back against the headboard earning an eye roll from Shaw.

"Got this for you. Thought you'd like it."

Root hadn't expected whatever Shaw had gotten her to be wrapped up in rather cheery Christmassy wrapping paper. "Don't get all mushy on me just open the damned thing. I'm going for a shower." Shaw says noticing the raised eyebrow look Root is flashing her.

Rather than open the pretty wrapped gift Root decides to follow her not a girlfriend girlfriend into the bathroom with a purred "Never thought you'd ask." As she sheds her clothes in a quaint trail back to the bed for them to follow later.

"Whatever." Shaw grunted rolling her eyes as she backs the hacker into the shower.


	3. Chapter 3

Shaw rolls over her lungs filling with the inviting scent of cooking stake and apple cinnamon pancakes as she moves from sleep to a more wakened state

"What do you think? Want to get up?" the ex-Marine yawns her voice still rough with sleep her eyes finding the warm chocolate ones of her bed mate's. Bear gives her what can only be called a doggie grin leaning his head against her hand wanting attention when he saw she was awake. His tail thumping harder than normal as he looked from her to the door and back again his nose twitching at the added scent of bacon on the air.

Shaw cracks the smallest of smiles at the dog snuggled against her side his head resting at her hip yet on guard as ever despite the distracting aromas of food tempting them both out of bed. "Alright, let's get up." She agrees earning a happy mini bark from Bear as he shoots up on the bed then stops stretching out some of the stiffness in his back when really, he was waiting on her.

"Dork." Shaw yawns running a hand in his fur while he gives a wolfish grin complete with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth only adding to what Root deemed 'the cuteness of Bear' factor. "Let's go before something burns down." The sociopath comments when the smell of cooking eggs blends with the rest coming from the apartment's kitchen.

Bear sticks to her side as soon as her feet touch the floor as she stretches out the tense muscles from the night before. Not all of her stiffness from her mission either. Shaw's fingers brush against a nonexistent scar behind her ear the longer she listens to the sounds of Root bustling around the kitchen.

Half the time it seems too good to not be just another of Samaritan's simulations. Bear tugs at the hem of her shirt with a garbled whine to get her attention when nuzzling under her hand didn't pull his favorite human from her own head. He'd seemed to roll with that battle scare as easy as if it was a physical wound, he needed to help her overcome.

"Thanks, big guy." Shaw whispers her voice scratchy making his ears droop in sympathy licking at her hand in comfort.

A surprised squeak and the unmistakable sound of a taser crackling to life sends both sprinting to the kitchen at top speed. Bear even making a spectacular leap over the sofa with Shaw copying him a beat later a hidden gun finding its way into her hand before her feet touch hardwood.

Root starts again as her compact lover's bullet obliterates its target while she can only back step a little almost tripping over Bear along the way as she tries to salvage the last of the pancakes before they can set off the fire alarm.

"A spider? Really Root?" Shaw groaned flipping the safety back on her gun before sliding it back into her waistband, but even she had to admit that was a big ass spider.

"Hey, spiders shouldn't be taller than my girl." Root shoots back with a smirking pout as she playfully bumps Shaw's shoulder with her own. How she can be smiling and pouting at the same time and still make the volume on Shaw's emotions kick up a few notches was a mystery to the ex-marine.

"I'm not that short." Shaw groans turning to the refrigerator only to have Root tap her on the arm with an already open beer. Shaw accepted turning to the table while Root went back to plating the only slightly charred breakfast she'd been making for the two of them.

Roots tilted her head intrigued when she noticed Shaw glaring across the table. "You haven't opened it yet." The hacker following Shaw's eyes to the gift her lover had given her the night before still neatly wrapped sitting bedside her open laptop and a cooling cup of morning coffee.

"Not yet. I wanted you to be awake when I did."

Shaw rolls her eyes spearing a large piece of scrambled eggs with her fork. "Just open the damn thing Root." She groans around her food shoveling more eggs and a few bites each of stake and pancakes into her mouth at the same time with what only Root and Bear knew was a happy moan.

The hacker flashes a grin of her own cutting into her own stack of cinnamon and apple cakes rather than do as her sociopath wanted. She was incredibly curious as to what Shaw had taken such care to get for her, but she also couldn't pass up the opportunity to toy with her girl a little longer. Besides her personal God in her ear had given her a new pancake recipe to try and Shaw had been on her to have something other than Shaw herself and coffee for breakfast.

"Either open it already or I'm tossing it out." Her partner in crime and the bedroom bargained once the last of the food had been taken care of and the plates cleared away. Well, Shaw's plate anyway. Not all of Root's annoyance was an act at the threat when Shaw once again pushed the package across the table.

The paper was ripped away as if she were a younger girl again. It was Christmas after all so a little destruction of wrapping paper was called for. "Next time use your own." Shaw huffed reaching over to tug the compact blade out of Root's hand as soon as the box the paper held was sliced open.

"But you know I like your toys better sweetie." Root teased tossing Bear a few of the now waded up papers acting as a second source of wrappings with a small grin catching Shaw smirking in amusement over the lip of her beer bottle as they watched the army dog scramble after them.

Any snarky comment the hacker would have made about the adorable scene died on her tongue as soon as her gaze returned to the thing in the box Shaw had brought her.

Unbidden tears started stinging Root's eyes as she looked over the gray handheld, she lifts gingerly from the cardboard one.

At first, she hadn't actually believed it was real. Yet every time she blinked it was still there with its retro computer look and annoyingly oversized button controls but what had the raw lump forming in her throat were the words scrawled in those familiar white letters in the sticker at the bottom of the handheld game.

' _The Oregon Trail'_

Holding her breath Root punched the oversized diamond looking button.

The game came to life at once. It was just as she remembered from all those years ago. All pixeled with underrated graphics with a dim backlight screen and just like that she was a high schooler again hanging out way past closing time in the back of the library with her best friend and crush watching while Hannah tried and failed to reach the end with a decent score. It was just as loud as she remembered it being too.

"Where did you even find this?"

Shaw gives what some may consider a smile as she answers. "Target."

Root peeks over at her eyebrow raised "No really."

"No really." Shaw parrots her tone deadpan as she steals a fork full of Root's now untouched eggs and a few of the uneaten pancake bits the hacker had cut up. "That one I actually spilled blood to get." she goes on to admit while twisting the lid off another beer that wasn't actually a twist-off cap. "the first two I bought then threw at the wall then shot to pieces when I kept dying." She added taking a sip of the liquid inside. "Honestly Root how could you even like that game?"

Her quiet hacker had yet to look up that time or even acknowledge she was in the room. If it wasn't her the tears sliding down her cheeks Shaw would have thought the other woman had passed out sitting up.

"There's an art to it."

Shaw felt what she thinks in fear and maybe guilt seeping into her system in answer to the break-in Root's whispered words. Honestly, Shaw wasn't entirely sure her roommate and serial blanket stealer had spoken given the ring in her ears from the last round of unprotected gunplay she'd gotten up to last number. "You're not going to go all Eeyore on me cause of this are you?" Shaw questions after another swig from her drink. Really a stupid question considering the tears still sliding down Root's cheeks.

Rather than answer Root gets up handheld in hand and rounds the table toward a still seated Shaw. "Of course, not sweetie." But Shaw picks up on the small break in Root's voice as she sits down again. This time on Shaw's lap.

Any other time she'd have gotten a gun against her side threatening a bullet in her liver if she was lucky enough for a warning before the deed was done as she was dumped onto the floor. Now, however, all she gets is a soft grunt and an eye roll while Shaw's arm is thrown around her middle to steady her. Her other hand moves to whip away the tear tracks under her hacker's eyes.

"Thank you, Sameen." Root murmurs dipping her head to press a soft kiss to the shorter woman's lips.

"Whatever Root." Shaw scoffs in answer picking up her beer but only after she grabs Root's chin for another rougher longer kiss.

"Merry Christmas Sweetie."

Shaw rolls her eyes but her head dips against the reformed killer for hires shoulder breathing in the scent of gunpower leather and apple-scented body wash. Her favorite combination aside from cooking foods. Preferably stake. "You too Root."

Besides if all this turned out to be just another simulation then the least Shaw can do is enjoy it.


End file.
